Dinner consisted of burgers and fries, and in addition to the jazz quartet playing onstage, Fridays were also ladies’ night, which explained the overwhelming number of women in the crowd. The discount on the tickets didn’t cover alcohol, but beers on tap were only two dollars for ladies, and Joanne saw no reason to order anything from a bottle as long as her mug could be refilled so cheaply. She nursed one beer while eating, but once her plate was clear and all that remained was the heaping pile of french fries between them, she scooted her chair around the table to be closer to Edie and settled in to enjoy the evening.
The music was loud and brassy—Joanne wasn’t a fan of jazz, to be honest. She thought saxophones sounded like migraines put to music, but the tickets were free and the comp
